Artisanal Collective is thrilled to announce that Aurang Zeb, Chief Data Scientist at Citi, has joined our team as Technical Advisor for LLM Systems Architecture. This is a monumental step forward as we continue to build our AI-powered Cultural Heritage Large Language Model (LLM) to preserve and elevate the world’s most valuable yet endangered cultural practices, crafts, and oral traditions.
As Charles Kao, Founder of Artisanal Collective, stated, “The development of our Cultural Heritage LLM is not just a technological leap—it’s a global mission. The potential impact of this work on the future of cultural heritage can be likened to the race to the Moon and Mars in the mid-20th century. Just as the technological advancements from that race revolutionized industries and global business, our work will change the way we understand and engage with cultural heritage for decades to come. While the Moon and Mars will be there for a long time, the cultural heritage of millions of communities worldwide is vanishing at an alarming rate. We are racing against time, and the Cultural Heritage LLM is our mission to preserve that legacy.”
Aurang Zeb brings extensive expertise in data science, AI, and systems architecture. With a distinguished career leading AI-driven innovations at Citi, Aurang will guide the design, development, and implementation of the Cultural Heritage LLM, ensuring that it is both ethically grounded and technologically advanced. Under his leadership, we aim to build an AI infrastructure that empowers artisans, connects them to global markets, and secures the preservation of their stories for future generations.
Our Cultural Heritage LLM is a transformative project that will not only preserve artisanal knowledge but also open up new opportunities for marginalized communities. As part of our larger mission to bridge the gap between cultural preservation and economic empowerment, this system will integrate machine learning and digital tools to preserve cultural practices in a scalable way.
In welcoming Aurang to the team, we are excited about the long-term global impact this AI-powered archive will have on both cultural heritage preservation and economic inclusion for artisans worldwide. The work we are doing is set to create new pathways for cross-sector collaboration and ensure that the legacies of global artisan communities are safeguarded for future generations.
As we continue on this path, Artisanal Collective remains committed to developing innovative solutions that will change the future of cultural heritage—much as the technological strides of the 1960s did for the business and lifestyle advancements that followed the race to the Moon and Mars.
Stay tuned for more updates as we move forward with this exciting journey.